Senate Republicans are about ready to hand off their North Carolina state budget proposal to their counterparts in the House.

The Senate scheduled for Thursday the second and final vote on its plan to spend roughly $21 billion in each of the next two years.

The bill received initial approval Wednesday on a party-line vote after more than three hours of debate.

Republicans turned back several Democratic amendments, some of which were designed to criticize a yet-detailed GOP plan to reduce taxes by more than $750 million over two years. Democrats accused the GOP of refusing to spend that money to restore cuts to public education.

House Republicans will make changes to the Senate's plan and ultimately work out a final plan to present to GOP Gov. Pat McCrory.